June 03, 2004

Botanical Murder

Mowing the yard stinks. It is a pain in the ass and I can never get the damn mower to start.

So Pod, my neighbor I told about the other day, comes over trying to sell me something so he can get some beer & cigarette cash. I don't want his junk, so he ended up being hired to mow the lawn to the tune of $10. Fair deal. Being Margarita night, we go to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. Upon return, Pod is just finishing the yard.

I notice that a couple of annuals are broken at the edge of one bed...no big deal, they're just annuals & easily replaced. It can happen.

Mind you, I have quite an elaborate layout of plantings...herbs and flowers mostly. MOST of them are in flower beds/gardens with borders, but some are not. I weed on a regular basis, so it is pretty clear (or at least I thought so) what is grass and what is herb/flower.

Walking across the patio, I glance over at the garbage can an notice a large amount of foliage peeking out. Hmmm...what's this? I peek in and my heart begins to race...it looks like branches from my butterfly bush and coneflower stems! I zip around the corner to be greeted by a huge naked patch next to my house. There USED to be a large butterfly bush, lots of gladiolas and three huge bunches of purple coneflowers there. Now, there is bare dirt. He ripped them all up. They were just about to start blooming, all of them. This was one of the spots where the plantings do not have a border around them, so I guess he thought they were weeds.

I am just sick. I kept a firmly clenched grip on my anger and did not rip him a new asshole, but I did tell him about the problem. It quickly became perfectly clear to him (with the help of the tears welling up in my eyes) that I was heartbroken.

I know, they're just stupid flowers...but they are my escape. When I am feeling bad, I submerge myself in them and breathe in their healing aromas. It always works. I have spent the last couple of months planting, weeding, watering, and caring for them just to have them murdered.

Pod said that he would replace the plants. I guess that's noble, but they sure won't be blooming this year. He feels like an idiot. The glads and coneflowers are some of my favorites that I cut and bring into work to brighten my office. The butterfly bush was given to me as a birthday gift. I like to photograph the flowers when in full bloom.

The bush might survive since he didn't rip out it's roots. The coneflowers - not sure, looked like roots were gone, too. The glads are bulbs, so they'll probably come back next year.

Now I just need to figure out what to do with this big naked spot in a yard otherwish filled with herbs and flowers. Guess that's what I get for not mowing the yard myself. Arg!

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I write about anything from photography, parenting, politics, events
and poetry, to observations, amusements and naughty pursuits. My life
is a rollercoaster ride - sometimes it's a blast and sometimes it
makes me feel ill, but it's always interesting.